Deep in my vault of rare and specialty wood, I decided it was time to start using the most ornery wood in my possession - Sweetgum, also known as Liquid Amber. The reason I haven’t used it much up until now, is that it is a very cantankerous, obstinate and even dangerous wood to work with. Although I have discovered the trick to safely handle this gnarly wood, it is a real pain. Ripping this cursed wood will either curve upward, outward, or, most perilously, inward thus pinching the table saw blade causing what’s known as a ‘kickback’. Highly experienced shop-smiths have lost not only digits, but anything else standing in the way of a block of wood traveling at hundreds of miles per hour.
I’ll be the first to tell you, it hurts!
Anyway, having tamed this incorrigible material, here is why I bothered you all, I’m making new frames with Sweetgum, and they are BEAUTIFUL!
What starts out as this:
turns into this:
The “camera” that comes with my old phone takes utterly unsatisfactory pictures. Colors that ought to be blue are instead, a nauseating reddish yellow and the perspective is often dizzying.
But here is a heapin’ helpin’ pile of frames about to be dropped off at the Deer Island Manor.
Again, sorry for the lame camera shots.
Look at that grain, there is a lot of blue in all of it.
I’m making all sorts of frames right now.
If you have a type of frame you want, made from this gorgeous wood, give Kory or me a shout!
Email Me: dsve@neotericwoodart.com
Absolutely beautiful!!